After two days at Chobe and the Savute camp, we were headed for a change of scenery
. After driving off an elephant from the landing strip, it was back in the air for a 30 minute flight over to the Okavango Delta. Another happy landing later and we were greeted by Jacob, our driver for the next three days from the Kwara Camp. I thought that the Savute Lodge was out there, but this place takes the cake. We were taken to a tented camp where our “rooms” were on raised up on stilts. The walls were made of a weather resistant canvas and the windows and doors were made of netting. The doors had locks on both the inside and outside. The locks on the outside were for whenever we were not in the room so that the baboons wouldn’t run a racket in the rooms. Apparently, if they get the chance, underwear are their favorite to play with! Although the room resembled a tent from the outside, the inside had all the amenities of an upscale hotel room. His/hers sinks, closets, duvet covered beds (who would need a comforter out here?), balcony and an outdoor shower.
The camp sat right on a little pond that had a herd of hippo who regularly belched, farted and made noises that resembled a sound that Jamba the Hut would make. This place was definitely more secluded than the first lodge/camp. There were no fences to keep animals out so we were frequently visited by impala, giraffe, warthogs, monkeys. There was a never ending battle between a troop of baboons and the staff. It usually ended in one of them running off with a handful of garbage and or some table scraps. Often times they would team up with the vervet monkeys and throw seed pods and berries at us from the trees above the main lodge. The Okanavga Delta is naturally wetter than the rest of the game parks in Botswana. However, the terrain can change so dramatically that at one point we are at an impassable marsh, while other times we are driving through what resembled a barren desert. This terrain also allowed us to have access to more types of activities. We went on a canoe ride around the pond, navigating our way around the hippos. We also went on a motor boat ride through the winding channels that made up the Delta. At one point we actually came around a sharp corner and almost ran into four hippos who were more than a little upset at our intrusion. Hippo are actually one of the most dangerous animals in Africa and I can see why. They are very territorial and they don’t like trespassers. Not to mention they can hold their breath for 4-5 minutes and the run along the bottom of the water and jump attack boater with mouths equipped with two foot long spear tipped teeth hinged on a jaw that can open nearly 180°. Apparently our boat captain had lost one boat once before when a hippo bit the bottom of the boat. His teeth punctured two holes in the bottom of the boat and it sank. The passengers, although wet, escaped unharmed. I’m a strong swimmer, and my motto out in the wilderness is, as long as I can swim or run faster than the person next to me, I’ll make it out alive… or I’ll just delay the inevitable. Regardless, I didn’t want to swim
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The OPKIX Camera has been making it's rounds through the Paintball Community and it is a massive HIT! Barrel mounted cameras have been the way to go to really capture that feeling of being in the game with a POV perspective. This is where you can backup all your claims throughout the day of how many eliminations you really got! Traditionally, however, the barrel mounted camera go to has been the GoPro, which is bulky and blocks a lot of precious view, especially if you are rocking the OG camera. The OPKIX, is unbelievably small and comes with an array of accessories that help you take it everywhere. The camera is waterproof, to a certain depth, and best of all, it is barrel mountable thanks to their silicone barrel mounts. I use the small size mount and it fits perfectly around my Acculock Barrel System. The best thing about having a barrel mounted camera, believe me, is that you tend to make moves that you wouldn't normally. I find when I lend the camera out to a teammate or a friend, they try to bunker more people, cause why not get the best shot you can for the gram right? The camera shoots 30fps at 1080p, which isn't the highest resolution available on the market, but when you see the size of the camera, you are blown away by the footage and what it is able to do. Like I said, the paintball community has adopted this tiny camera system fully and I have had nothing but great, positive feedback. I highly recommend getting the two camera system. As you can imagine, the battery life isn't fantastic on the camera, but it is a perfect design with the two camera system anyway. The way it works is similar to a pair of AirPods or any of these fancy bluetooth headphones these days. You have a hard drive charging device, nicknamed "the Egg," to which you use to store your cameras. The Egg serves as a home base and your point of contact for downloading the content to your phone. I charge my Egg on the way to the field to make sure I am topped off when I arrive. Then I will mount a cam to my barrel, play about 5-7 points, or until the camera no longer turns on and then I just swap the cameras out. The Egg then downloads the full unit and recharges the batteries while I play another handful of points. Then just rinse and repeat for the remainder of the day. After I bunker someone or have an epic point, often times they go hand in hand, I immediately send the content to my phone and brag to the team that I shot someone. Easy as that!
Here it is, your chance to make it to the big time, kinda. Like the pro players who have come before you, your artwork will be on display in front of the masses during a live episode of the SPICK & SPAN SHOW at the end of the month! All you have to do is create a radical Force design and submit it to us! RULES: Please download or save this image, print it out, and draw out your best piece of artwork and submit that artwork to me ( email , Instagram , Facebook , etc). Please note, we are trying to make this as kindergarten as possible, so all entries must be drawn in fat tipped pens (preferably the ones with the fruity scents, OR with crayon.) No entries drawn in colored pencil or artistic pens will count. The winner will be chosen LIVE on the show at the end of the month MARCH 22nd . The overall winner will take home a signed ALEX FRAIGE JERSEY and possibly some more sponsored goods!
I had been staring at this PROLON box for nearly three months before I was able to muster up the courage to tackle the five day fast. Actually, I had planned to take it when I received it back in October, but I was also prepping for a little event called World Cup, so I didn't want any distractions nor did I want to possibly have my training hindered by lack of energy or whatever it was that I may feel as I embarked on this journey. Fast forward through a handful of excuses and it was the first week of January and what better time to fast than to kick off the New Year. Like I said, I have wanted to do a full on fast for a long time and this PROLON fast in particular was very appealing for various reasons. This box was tempting, or taunting me for the better part of two months so I had to jump in. I have documented my journey to give you some insight into my joy and pain during the week of my PROLON fast. I do wish I had taken before and after photos/videos, but I was just laser focused on making it through the week to be honest. I will do that on the next fast, if there is one... Sunday night 158 lbs Day One: Monday morning 156.4 lbs = loss of 1.6lbs Good morning to a new day and a new week supplemented with the PROLON Fast Mimicking Diet. This morning started with a nut bar that offers just about 200 calories and healthy fats to power me through till lunch time. I was slightly uncomfortable around 11am and was ready to start lunch which was slated to be a tomato soup, a small packet of olives and five kale crackers. The meals are understandably small, but today is the big eating day with just over 1000 calories before tomorrow dips below 800 and lower as the week goes on. The test is getting through today and pacing myself to prep for the long haul. Monday night 156 lbs Tuesday morning 154.2 lbs = loss of 1.8lbs Today was for sure the hardest day. Waking up I felt grumpy I felt tired I felt starving! Today was also my worst planned day, breakfast included the L bar (nut bar) then I had lunch planned as a mushroom soup and olives followed by an afternoon snack of olives. However the day's plan didn’t allow me to have my much needed soup for lunch. I had an appointment across the border, in Mexico, for my dog to have her teeth pulled and cleaned. Getting there is never a problem, only about 45 minute drive from my door to the dentist, but the process took about four hours and getting across the border takes another hour and a half or more. I packed both packets of olives but I certainly wasn’t prepared to watch Camille eat two rounds of delicious tacos while I licked the inside of the olive packet dry. I didn’t get home that afternoon until around 4pm and I was doing everything in my power to not be a grouch, I think I did well despite Camille’s attempts to poke at me. This tough day ended up being a bit of a blessing in disguise as I ended up eating my lunch time soup closer to dinner time and my dinner soup was basically a bonus which would inevitably help stave off hunger for tomorrow morning. Rationing the calories is the key to success here. Two days down, three more to go! Tuesday night 154.3 lb Wednesday morning 153.3 lb = loss of 1lb This morning was actually much better than yesterday my energy levels feel like they’re higher and all around I feel better. I wasn’t groggy this morning, I wasn’t even that hungry. The pain that usually sits in the pit of my stomach was nonexistent. However when I open my day three box and look at the menu, I did notice it was a little lighter than previous day’s. I feel like I’ve had a good system and I’ve rationed my meals out pretty well throughout the day. I try to eat my dinner as late as possible and I have really leaned on that little chocolate crisp we get for dessert each night. I’ll nibble it for about an hour before and after my nightly soup and I manage to continue the chocolate crisp to just after dinner. I did that the first day with my kale chips as well, I don’t devour everything all at once I try to make each meal last as long as possible to savor and hopefully trick my brain into thinking it’s not over. What made tonight especially difficult was that my golden goose, my chocolate crisp wasn’t in my meal kit. This was slightly irritating. I was in a groove, I was conquering this thing, I had it beat and now they throw this at me! The chocolate was my rock, how could they do this to me!? Wednesday night 154.6 lb Thursday morning 152.7 lb = loss of 1.9lb This morning is the best I’ve felt so far bar none! I actually started to notice yesterday morning that my face looked different. I looked noticeably more vibrant and it look like I was more hydrated even. I drink a lot of water already, but I am supplementing food with water and tea. Some of my more defining wrinkles were less pronounced and I have a slight glow to my face. This morning that “glow” was even more prominent and my face just looked younger, it is hard to describe and I kick myself for not taking pictures of a before and after now looking back at it. I do not feel hungry, yet, which is a huge bonus. I ate my soup last night at around 7pm I usually try to drag out the meal process as long as possible, like I said before to really extend the experience. Unfortunately last night, there was no little chocolate dessert. That tiny chocolate paradise is really what helps me get through the nights! Usually I'll start to nibble The little chocolate treat around 6 PM and make it last until maybe having one or two nibbles after I’m done with my nightly soup. Today was particularly interesting because to this point I have not been exerting any excessive energy. I have been trying to preserve energy assuming that I would need it to make it through tomorrow, but that just hasn't been the case. Today I went surfing for a little over an hour and the only fatigue I noticed was actually just due to my arm strength weakening slightly. I wasn’t exhausted physically or mentally, more just cold. I had just assumed that this fast would zap my physically, but this wasn't the case. I just ate my packet of olives before I went out and I was good I’m looking forward to the chocolate crisp that I get to eat with dinner tonight! Not to mention tomorrow’s the last day of this extended torment. Thursday night 154 lb Friday morning 151.4 lb = loss of 2.6lb Alright, it’s pretty much over, I can see a definitive finish line and it has gotten easier and easier with each passing day. Honestly, looking back on it, aside from Tuesday being lousy, the week hasn’t been as bad as I had expected. Today was a bit difficult, however, because I was flying to the East Coast for an event. I started the morning earlier than usual so I was certainly worried about that. I was worried about the temptation of food in flight and at the airports. I couldn’t bring my lunch and dinner with me in the form of soup because I knew that I wouldn’t have anything to mix the soup with/in. That being said, I had my bar in the morning even though I wasn’t really craving it. I rationed it like normal, first bite was around 615am and I put it in my jacket pocket and finished it before I boarded my flight around 730. Writing that out sounds crazy actually. Then I packed my Kale chips and had those before I landed in Charolette which was about three and a half hours later. Landing in Boston, I was not really hungry, but I will end up eating something lite and small for dinner that is not the soup that I am used to. This being the final day of the fast, I am not so much throwing in the towel as I am conceding due to lack of proper preparation. I ended the fast a few hours early and without my last two soup packets. Beginning weight 158lb End weight 151.4lb Net weight loss 6.6lb
This is for all the marbles! We know World Cup is HIGH STAKES PAINTBALL, but this is a whole other story! HERE WE GO! So, what have you been doing the past eight months or so? Prepping for the 2020 NXL World Cup? I hope so. I am sure that you have played some paintball here and there, but high level of competition, not likely, at least not for our guys. I have done a handful of coaching gigs, so hopefully that dials me in for this NXL World Cup layout breakdown but for the most part, paintball out this way has been slow or locked down. But things just got extra exciting when this wild 2020 NXL World Cup Layout just dropped! The dorito side looks insane! the "snake" is a fortress that owns the 50-yard line. Then the center ripe for a run through! You may as well take a moment and check out the BKI School of Paintball ‘s field breakdown, It is FREE for everyone to enjoy and there will be a followup breakdown for members onl y next week with key bounce shots and detailed game plans for everyone. Right now, w e must focus on getting familiar with the 2020 NXL W ORLD CUP layout and dial in some game plans . As we all know, preparation is key, and it is a crucial element in your team’s, as well as your own, success. Be prepared to fight against your opponents by taking every necessary step. Taking these steps goes far beyond just the hours on the practice field. You may have heard me say before that you need to control all of the variables that you can. This is a great example of that preparation and this is a great step to controlling one of those variables. As some of the teams who I coach will agree, game planning is one of their major keys to success. With that said, our fearless leader and coach extraordinaire, Rusty Glaze has ma de some adjustments to the normal field layout map that everyone should be familiar with at this point and therefore should be a staple in everyone’s field planning. I would recommend following his lead, as it has paid serious dividends to Dynasty and to other local teams that we coach! The BKI Team have also added a FIELD BREAKDOWN FREE for everyon e to enjoy. This is just a preliminary walkthrough. There will a full GAME PLAN REVIEW with several BREAKOUTS along with a detailed description on how to execute those plans coming out for WEEKEND TWO! So check out the LINK above then sign up for BKI PAINTBALL to get access to over 400 pieces of unique paintball and fitness drills along with
One of the most critical assets to excelling in the sport of paintball is your ability to perceive what is happening around you as quickly as possible. This is called situational awareness. People think they see like a camera with a wide-angle lens seeing everything at once. NOT TRUE
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Have you ever fought with a Goliath in their own environment? How about diving down 60 feet on a single breath to find a legendary fish camouflaged into the surrounding reef. Pair this experience with the secluded West African Coastline and you have the makings of a trip of a lifetime.
